The Dutch of South Africa

The Dutch of South Africa, numbering approximately 312,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are described as a West Germanic people native to the Netherlands whose culture has been shaped by maritime trade, water management, urbanization, commercial exchange, and a long tradition of local self-government and civic cooperation They are an Diaspora people, with Dutch as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Germanic people cluster of the Eurasian Peoples. They mostly adhere to Unaffiliated and Dutch is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Dutch

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Eurasian Peoples
Country: South Africa
People Cluster: Germanic
Primary Language(s): Dutch (nld)
Primary Religion(s): Unaffiliated
Population: 312,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 5% or Greater but Less than 10% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG015496
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Dutch of South Africa

Join others around the world in praying for the lost to be saved, the gospel to advance, the global Church to grow, and for laborers to be sent out and sustained in the harvest.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Unaffiliated
Religious Affiliation: Unaffiliated

56%
%
Unaffiliated Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Dutch
Language Family: Indo-European

100%
%
Dutch Speakers

Media Resources in Dutch:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film
MagdalenaView Film

4 films

Bible Resources in Dutch:

Or check out the Dutch bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Dutch are No Longer Unreached, which means there are more than 2% evangelical Christian populations and there are churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice. There is still more to be done among them.

Next steps for the Dutch:
Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Dutch of South Africa

Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him?
readJames 2:5

Pray for those living in despair to experience the riches of God's love and the hope of eternal life through faith in Christ.

...I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
readPsalm 13:5

Ask God to bring many to trust in His unfailing love and cause their hearts to rejoice in His salvation.

But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.
readHebrews 10:39

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, and faithfully follow God, they will share Christ boldly with those around them.

Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.
readIsaiah 43:19

Praise the God who is able to make a way forward, even when it seems impossible. Ask Him to do a new thing among this people group specifically and among the nations, raising up believers to go and share the gospel with individuals and places where it has not flourished before.

Dutch Across Countries (ROP3 - 102787) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

13 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
DutchDutchNetherlands14,190,000Engaged yet UnreachedDutchUnaffiliated
DutchDutchUnited States1,685,000Engaged yet UnreachedDutchUnaffiliated
DutchDutchSouth Africa312,000No Longer UnreachedDutchUnaffiliated
DutchDutchCanada138,000No Longer UnreachedDutchUnaffiliated
DutchDutchAustralia80,500No Longer UnreachedDutchUnaffiliated
DutchDutchNew Zealand37,000Engaged yet UnreachedDutchUnaffiliated
DutchDutchSweden12,500Unengaged and UnreachedDutchUnaffiliated
DutchDutchCuracao12,500No Longer UnreachedDutchUnaffiliated
DutchDutchDenmark6,300No Longer UnreachedDutchUnaffiliated
DutchDutchAruba4,300Unengaged and UnreachedDutchProtestantism
DutchDutchLuxembourg4,200Unengaged and UnreachedDutchProtestantism
DutchDutchAustria3,300No Longer UnreachedDutchUnaffiliated
DutchDutchSint Maarten2,000No Longer UnreachedDutchUnaffiliated

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

Peoplegroups.org relies on updates from the field and other organizations for much of our data, so if you have any updates, please contact us. We use various international naming standards. For a list of these standards and fields, visit our Data Standards section.

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